Mentorship is a critical element of career development in transplant surgery/transplantation, influencing not only professional growth, but also technical skill development, personal resilience, and academic success. However, despite its importance, effective mentorship can seem like a daunting task to establish and feel inconsistently applied across training stages. Thus, this session will highlight the importance of mentors and mentorship in the long road of transplant training, bringing together a dynamic panel—ranging from trainees to seasoned faculty—to explore the many dimensions of mentorship in this field. Panelists will share how mentorship has shaped their careers, highlighting practical insights into finding and establishing strong mentorship relationship both formal and informal, as mentor and as mentee. Topics will include: identifying and approaching potential mentors, setting expectations, sustaining meaningful connections, and navigating challenges, as attendees will hopefully be empowered to build and benefit from mentorship across all stages of their careers.

Goals & Objectives: • Understand the unique attributes of a mentor, sponsor, and coach and how these different roles can serve different purposes in one’s career development • Obtain practical advice for seeking and maintaining strong mentorship relationships (from both mentor and mentee perspectives) • Inspiration for enhancing mentor-mentee relationships at attendees’ institutions